Sunday, February 23, 2014

Legislative Update - Feb 23, 2014 - One More Week to Stop this Bill

This Legislative Update provided to Landlord Connection customers by Nick Norman, Director of Legislative Affairs for the RPOA

Howdee everyone,

Turns out the legislature is on vacation this week. So we get one more week to get the House to vote against HB1409, Anti-discrimination Section 8, Domestic Violence.  This is THE big real estate bill of the year and it will have a dramatic negative impact on your real estate business.

The Judicial Committee voted 11 to 7 to pass this bill. It goes to the full house next week.  We need EVERY landlord to call & email their Representative (not Senator just yet), educate them on this horrendous bill and ask them to vote against it so it stops right here before crossing over to the Senate. 

We need everyone to:

1. Review the summary of the Bill below.
The entire Bill is located here: HB 1409

2. Contact your local representative and ask them to vote against the bill with detailed reasons why.

3. Contact the representative where you own property. Ask them to vote against the bill with detailed reasons why.

4.    Email all representatives ask them to vote against the bill with short summary why.

Click Here: 
To find both your Representative & Senator 

To send an email to all House of Representatives use:HReps@leg.state.nh.us

Detailed information is listed below.
…….…….…….
Short summary of HB1409
If H1409 passes:
Tenants that receive housing assistance of a variety of kinds (Section 8, Veterans, possibly others) & victims of domestic violence, sexual assault & stalking will all now be a “Protected Class” which means they are protected from discrimination.

To get this protection a person only need call the police or violence center once (whether their claim is true or not) and now they are a protected class for life!
(Page 1 line 10; Amend RSA 354-A:2 new paragraph XVII)


Note there is no verification or judicial process on this call.  It is well know that there are many false claims and temporary orders that never carry through to permanent restraining orders.

It is well known that domestic violence victims often invite back in their perpetrators.  With HB1409, all other tenants in the building would be subject to disturbance and increased safety risks of living next to the violence.

When we speak to law officers, other landlords and attorneys many have said that it often happens in divorces and violence cases that both victim and perpetrator make calls and claims against each other.  Under HB1409, the perpetrator will now be a protected class.

Further we have been instructed by legal counsel that if a tenant’s bad credit or bad landlord references are because of the violence then denying them an apartment for that bad credit or bad landlord references would be discrimination.

Many landlords will hesitate to not accept a protected class in fear of an anti-discrimination proceeding, which makes the state essentially forcing landlords to accept both Section 8, Violence Victims and Perpetrators.
Further if an existing tenant finally makes it through the long wait for Section 8 eligibility then that present landlord would be forced to take the HUD government contract that comes along with Section 8.

Once a building has only 1 Section 8 tenant then that apartment and the entirety of common areas and exterior fall under HUD rules including HUD RRP rules which bear significant increased expenses.  See details below.

Did you know that some insurance companies have an “internal policy” that they will not write property insurance if there are more than a certain percentage of Section 8 tenants.  Landlords may now be forced to accept conditions that would cause the insurance to be canceled which in turn would cause the bank to call the mortgage.  The landlord would now be forced to get “surplus market” more expensive insurance or face a foreclosure.
Hearings this Week:
None
Next week:
03/03/2014 at 10:00 AM    LOB 301
HB1196, Special Circumstances To Waive Interest On Unpaid Taxes
Level of Response: You Decide
Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

03/03/2014 at 10:30 AM    LOB 301
HB1171, Veterans Property Tax Credit
Level of Response: You Decide
Property Owner Position: You Decide

03/03/2014 at 02:00 PM    LOB 301
HB1333, Eliminate Fraudulent Use of Elderly Property Tax Credit
Level of Response: Email Legislators
Property Owner Position: For

03/04/2014 at 10:15 AM    LOB 103
SB368, Increase Max Fine Re: Lead Remediation
Level of Response: Email Legislators
Property Owner Position: Against

03/05/2014 at 09:30 AM    LOB 102
SB374, Standardize Terms Domicile & Residency
Level of Response: You Decide
Property Owner Position: You Decide
Please email or call your legislator to give them your input on the bills still active & ask your legislator to vote in our favor.

Further below is:Bills Updated Status summary:
Full details on all bills above
(Which includes property owner position, contact info, talking points, and more)

Love & Light,
Nick Norman
RPOA Director of Legislative Affairs
==============================================
We only list the committee reports on the most important bills affecting the real estate business.  If you want to get the committee report on one of the other bills contact me & I will show you how to get them on line.  Its not terribly hard to get but not straight ahead either.
==============================================

Bills Updated Status summary:We only list the committee reports on the most important bills affecting the real estate business.  If you want to get the committee report on one of the other bills contact me & I will show you how to get them on line.  Its not terribly hard to get but not straight ahead either.

HB1283    
Title: relative to a homeowners association's authority to collect back dues following revival of the association's charter.
Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide
House Status: REPORT FILED:
Senate Status: none

HB1369    
Title: adopting the Uniform Marital Property Act.
Property Owner Position: You Decide
House Status: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE
Senate Status: none

HB1207    
Title: relative to identification of the source of legislative bill proposals.
Property Owner Position: For
House Status: REPORT FILED:
Senate Status: none

HB1111    
Title: clarifying the term "valid claim" for property insurance.
Property Owner Position: For
House Status: REPORT FILED:
Senate Status: none
==============================================
Full details on all bills above: HB1283, Rights on Revival of Condo Charter
01/16/2014 at 10:45 AM    LOB 302
Title: relative to a homeowners association's authority to collect back dues following revival of the association's charter.

Summary: This bill does not directly affect private landlords, unless the landlord is renting out a condo in a community where there is a home owners association. Given the limited number of our membership that would be affected by the bill we leave this to you to decide if it affects you and how is best for you to respond.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H43

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseCommerceAndConsumerAffairs@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1283

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1283.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
Limited Impact, no talking points developed.
=====================
HB1369, Uniform Marital Property Act
01/21/2014 at 01:00 PM    LOB 206
Title: adopting the Uniform Marital Property Act.

Summary: This bill would have New Hampshire adopt the Uniform Property Act  probably drafted by a committee who proposes such legislation for the country as a whole.

Property Owner Position: You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H37

Email to Committee:
To: 0
Subject: HB1369

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1369.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
The purpose of uniform codes is that all states that adopt the act have almost the same laws in that area of the law. For commercial transactions, this is very important.  Martial property laws have varied from state to state in the past.

Much of what is in this bill is the law in the State of New Hampshire. For instance, the division of a pension in a divorce follows the law that was developed by the Courts in deciding cases.  The bill also follows the general principal that all marital property is to be divided equally upon a divorce but the trial court has the power to make an unequal division based upon certain factors set forth in another statute.

The bill is far to complicated to provide a short and comprehensive summary.  Further, to accurately explain how the bill changes New Hampshire law will require the analysis of someone who has knowledge of current marital property laws which we don’t have.

The bill is very important to people who are involved in divorces, fights between spouses regarding the gifting or management of assets, probate, and other property division matters between spouses.

NH has not been a "community property" state.  I don't know if this would force NH into a "community property".  Would it prohibit the legal functioning of prenuptual and co-habitation agreements?

Many questions need to be answered here.  If you believe this affects you please get involved.
=====================
HB1409, Antidiscrimination Section 8, Domestic Violence
01/21/2014 at 01:30 PM    LOB 208
Title: expanding the law against discrimination to prohibit housing discrimination against recipients of rental assistance and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Summary: Proposed and drafted by NHLA (tenant advocates) expanding the law against discrimination to prohibit housing discrimination against recipients of rental assistance (any kind of assistance including Section 8) and any one who claims to be a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  Note: merely making an unverified call to the police or violence center would constitute some one now in a protected class.

Property Owner Position: Against

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1409

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1409.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
WE NEED EVERYONE INVOLED.

This bill makes two significant changes by adding two distinct and separate categories to RSA 354-A.

First addition to the protected classes (protected from discrimination) is any person who has merely reported to law enforcement, a victim’s violence center, or obtained a temporary or permanent protective order.

The second addition to RSA 354-A the protected classes (protected from discrimination) is for people who receive rental assistance..

We met with NHLA about this bill and were told two of the reasons NHLA put forward the bill are:
1. NHLA was told that people in these classes have difficulty finding apartments. However, NHLA has not provided any statistics to back this up.  Further people have 60 days to locate an apartment that can be extended up to 120 days.  If they work as hard at finding an apartment as the members of the legislature do during a session they should be able to locate an apartment within the allotted time frames.

We were told the victims of domestic violence sometimes have trouble getting apartments because they come with bad landlord references.

2. The second reason is that NHLA feels all tenants should be able to live where they want (despite their bad landlord references) and that these classes of tenants would  have a better chance of improving theirs situations if they could live in better areas.

Note that rental assistance vouchers have rental amount limits as to how much can be spent on rent.
Does this mean that all public housing that concentrates poor people in one project should be eliminated?

There are so many problems with this bill it is crazy.  Here goes a listing of some.
1. Abusing the system by tenants
To obtain this protection against discrimination one would merely need to report abuse to any law enforcement officer or a violence center. Making a lie to a victims violence center is not a crime. Many people have no problem not telling the police the truth to get what they want, or filing a false affidavit to obtain a temporary order.  Just reporting the domestic violence or stalking is enough.  There is no judicial review or any determination of truth to obtain this protection.  It is easy to abuse the good intentions of the bill to the detriment of the landlords.

Many times at an apartment couples are arguing and the police are called. Now that arguing couple is a protected class and you can’t evict because an agency was called. This is really poorly written and will create another opportunity for a professional tenant to get away without paying rent. A landlord should be able to evict if there is a problem tenant. If the abuser keeps coming back and starting an augment the landlord and neighboring tenants will be stuck with the problem tenant and lose the good law abiding ones because of this law.  A “professional” tenant could make good money here.

2. Perpetrators allowed back in by victim.
Second: many times the victims allow the perpetrator into the new apartment. Other tenants to be in danger if new tenant who is victim of DV lets abuser back into their living space.  What if one of the tenants are harmed by the perpetrator.  Can the landlord now be held some how liable because the landlord could not do anything to eliminate the perpetrator?
If this happens, landlords have limited ability to evict unless they are witnesses to new abuse or disturbance of the peace.  The eviction requires a 30 days notice plus all the time the courts take  so it could take 2 to 3 months at a minimum to evict the perpetrator.  Mean time all the other tenants in the building who are subject to the fights, generally are reluctant to call police, and may move on account of the continued problem.  Now the landlord is only left with the troubled unit and will likely have trouble rerenting because of the troublesome unit.

Both law enforcement officers and attorneys testify that it is not uncommon for both victim and perpetrator to register complaints about each other.  Under this bill the perpetrator would be a protected class.

Ultimately we need to stop this bill entirely.  If the bill moves forward, it needs to provide safeguards against abuse of the protections for victims, and needs to provide a way for a landlord to have the perpetrator removed quickly from the rented unit if the perpetrator was not on the lease or rental agreement, or a tenant. Only victims who have obtained a permanent order and have maintained the order should have this protection.

3. Section 8 tenants are more costly for landlords although landlords by HUD rules can not charge more for them.
a. more paper work.  The Section 8 lease and contract is very large with an extreme number of clauses.  Does this mean you have to except all the provisions that this government body dreams up and the landlord as no control over.
b. must take time for initial inspection
c. annual inspections
d. annual financial reviews of the tenants if not more often, which changes the amount paid by the housing authority and the tenant.  Increases bookkeeping time and chances of errors.
e. More regulations, and different standards such as with lead paint renovations which would now have to meet more stringent HUD rules.
Did you know that having a housing assistance tenant forces you to follow HUD RRP rules instead of EPA RRP rules.  The HUD rules are more restrictive and expense to follow which will absolutely increase your expenses and create more vacancy.
f. Need housing authority approval to raise rents, and there are limitations on rent increases based upon what is allowed by HUD
g. Sec 8 is funded by what has been a dysfunctional  Congress.  Who knows what they will continue to fund.
h. Landlords should not be forced to have too many sec 8 tenants, if funding is reduced the landlord could face financial ruin.
i. This will open all our rental properties to having to be up to government (HUD) codes including at least annual inspections, not just current building code.

The bill gives people on sec 8 & any type of housing assistance greater rights than people who work and pay rent from their paychecks.

4.  Limited ability to screen new tenants.
This will force you to accept Section 8 tenants.  You will not be allowed to deny someone your apartment if they have bad landlord references or bad credit if those references and credit are "caused" by the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  Maybe this could be stretched to say the reasons that cause a tenant to be eligible for Section 8 are the reasons for their bad credit.  If so landlords could not refuse a Section 8 tenant because of their bad credit.  Could that be extended to say the could not be refuse because of bad past rental payments.

5. More legal battles to fight.
It happens often that a landlord who never had any intent to discriminate winds up spending hours and hours and thousands of dollars in an effort to convince an investigator of their innocence.  How could you know that some one is a victim of domestic violence  or if they have reported domestic violence or verify of these?  What does that mean?  To be safe from a discrimination lawsuit a landlord must simply accept anybody?   This could easily open up many “frivolous” lawsuits against landlords.

6. Potential issues with property insurance
Some insurance companies won’t do insurance if Section 8 more than 20%-50%. Standard Insurance companies research shows that if there is a majority of a building rented to Section 8 occupants there tend to be more claims and less maintenance is done on the building.  We have been told by insurance agents that it is their right not to insure the building in that situation.

This is a terrible bill for landlords. Stay tuned, contact you legislators and ask them to vote against HB1409.
=====================
HB1207, Reveal Source of Legislative Bill
01/23/2014 at 02:00 PM    LOB 104
Title: relative to identification of the source of legislative bill proposals.

Summary: Requires the office of Legislative Services or a member of the legislature to disclose the source of a model act in the bill's analysis.

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H12

Email to Committee:
To: 0
Subject: HB1207

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1207.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
We think this is a good idea, so that everyone who follows legislation has this disclosure. This bill requires the identification of a private organization responsible for distributing a model act used by a legislator to propose legislation, as provided by the legislation’s prime sponsor or as identified by a third party.
=====================
HB1111, Insurance Not Canceled After Claim
01/30/2014 at 10:00 AM    LOB 302
Title: clarifying the term "valid claim" for property insurance.

Summary: Does not allow insurance companies to cancel policy after a claim.

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H43

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseCommerceAndConsumerAffairs@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1111

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1111.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
This bill amends current law which prohibits an insurance company from not renewing a homeowners insurance policy if the homeowner made one valid claim within the previous year or policy period.  The bill adds the following: "Inquiries about coverage do not constitute a valid claim."

Although the bill effects homeowners policies and not commercial policies, it may effect our membership who have owner occupied units, such as duplexes. The problem with the bill is that it is unclear if it opens the door to non-renewal if the homeowner inquires about coverage and does not file a claim, which does not appear to be the intent of the bill. It maybe covered elsewhere in the statute, and common sense would say that an inquiry without a claim should not be grounds for the non renewal of a policy.
=====================
HB1196, Special Circumstances To Waive Interest On Unpaid Taxes
03/03/2014 at 10:00 AM    LOB 301
Title: allowing town and cities to waive a portion of the interest due on late property tax payments in special or extraordinary circumstances.

Summary: This bill would grant authority to local governing body of any municipality to waive a portion interest accrued on unpaid taxes upon request of the person liable for the taxes, when the governing body determines that there are special or extraordinary circumstance that require such a waiver.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H18

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1196

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1196.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
The bill does not give any guidance as to what are special or extraordinary circumstances, not does it specify what portion of the taxes can be waived.

There are circumstances where the interest should be waived, for instance the tax bill was wrong and the property owner was over taxed, and the property owner paid the correct amount of the tax.  It is not at all clear if the financial circumstances or health of a property owner would be such special circumstances.  Because the bill is so unclear, we do not feel that we should support it.  We also do not think that we should oppose it, as one of us could end up benefiting by such a bill.  You decide.
=====================
HB1171, Veterans Property Tax Credit
03/03/2014 at 10:30 AM    LOB 301
Title: relative to eligibility for the veterans' property tax credit.

Summary: This bill would give a property tax credit to every state resident  who is in active duty in the US military for at least 4 years and has served in an armed conflict for not less than 90 days.  The tax credit would continue after an honorable discharge from the military for life.

Property Owner Position: You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H18

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1171

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1171.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
The bill is a "Thank you" for risking life and limb to our current forces and combat veterans.
=====================
HB1333, Eliminate Fraudulent Use of Elderly Property Tax Credit
03/03/2014 at 02:00 PM    LOB 301
Title: relative to the elderly property tax exemption.

Summary: The bill would not allow the elderly tax exemption if the house was being used by someone who moved into the elderly person’s home and had income above certain limits. It is to prevent someone who has income from moving in with an elderly person and avoid paying his or her fair share of taxes.

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H18

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1333

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1333.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
This bill would reduce the elderly tax exemption if the owner shares the house with someone who is not the owners spouse and is over 18 with a personal income of over amounts set by the local community, but not less than $13,400 for a single person or $20,400 for a married person.

Since exemptions raise taxes for everyone else, and this bill only effects people who the legislature deems to have sufficient funds to pay part if not all the property taxes, we should support the bill.
=====================
SB368, Increase Max Fine Re: Lead Remediation
03/04/2014 at 10:15 AM    LOB 103
Title: increasing maximum fine for lead remediation.

Summary: The current maximum fine, pursuant to the New Hampshire  on lead paint, RSA 130-A is $2,000 for each violation of the law.  This bill would increase the fine to $5,000. Violations of the law include failure to allow inspections, failure to remediate if an order is issued, failure to relocate a tenant in certain circumstances and more.

Property Owner Position: Against

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S05http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S05

Email to Committee:
To: peggy.gilmour@leg.state.nh.us; molly.kelly@leg.state.nh.us; nancy.stiles@leg.state.nh.us; john.reagan111@gmail.com; andy.sanborn@leg.state.nh.us; ;
Subject: SB368

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0368.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
You decide talking points on this one.
=====================
SB374, Standardize Terms Domicile & Residency
03/05/2014 at 09:30 AM    LOB 102
Title: establishing a commission to review and make recommendations to standardize and make uniform the definitions of "domicile" and "residency" in state statutes.

Summary: It appears that there is currently a law to establish a commission to review and make recommendations to standardize the terms domicile and residency in state statutes.  This bill repeals the current law and enables a new commission to report its findings before Nov 30, 2014.

Property Owner Position: You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S27

Email to Committee:
To: jeanie.forrester@leg.state.nh.us; bette.lasky@leg.state.nh.us; NH.Sen.Pierce@gmail.com; nancy.stiles@leg.state.nh.us; dboutin1465@comcast.net; ;
Subject: SB374

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0374.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
none developed so far.

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

HB1409 - LANDLORDS!!! YOU NEED TO DIAL-IN TO THIS IMPORTANT CONFERENCE CALL

I want to thank the many Landlord Connection customers who have contacted their State Legislators. However, it might not be enough to prevent this Bill from becoming law. I cannot emphasize enough the consequences to all of us if this Bill becomes law.  Jeannine Richardson, Landlord Connection

If HB 1409 becomes law you will be forced to deal with the Section-8 government program and have to play by their rules. HUD will become your partner...

CONFERENCE CALL
You need to be on this call to find out what we need to do to stop this law from passing the way it is written. Nick Norman will be available on this conference call to explain the serious ramifications to landlords.

WHEN: Friday, February 21st 8:00-8:20 pm and a repeat call Saturday, February 22nd 10:30-10:50 am.

Instructions: Call 712-432-0460  Pin number 903533#


ACT FAST OR THIS WILL BECOME LAW

Saturday, February 15, 2014

Legislative Update - Feb 15 2014 - HB1409 House vote delayed; 1 more week to speak up

This Legislative Update provided by Nick Norman, Director, Legislative Affairs for the RPOA 

Howdee everyone,

We still have a few days to get the House to vote against HB1409, Anti-discrimination Section 8, Domestic Violence.  This is THE big real estate bill of the year and it will have a dramatic negative impact on your real estate business.  

To write to all House of Representatives use:HReps@leg.state.nh.us

We need everyone to:
1.    Review the summary of the bill immediately below.
(reviewing the full detail much further below is better).

2.    Contact your representative where you live. Ask them to vote against the bill with detailed reasons why.
3.    Contact your representative where you own property. Ask them to vote against the bill with detailed reasons why.

4.    Email all representatives ask them to vote against the bill with short summary why.

To find both your Representative & Senator goto

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/wml.aspx

This can also be found by going to
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/
& clicking “Find Your Representatives”


See more info in Summaries & Full Detail for each category further below. (includes property owner position, contact info, Talking points, and more).(to jump right to bill detail, use Control-F, Find).
…….…….…….
Short summary of HB1409. (Full detail later on).Tenants that receive housing assistance of a variety of kinds (Section 8, Veterans, possibly others) & victims of domestic violence, sexual assault & stalking will all now be a “Protected Class” which means they are protected from discrimination.

To get this protection a person only need call the police or violence center once (whether their claim is true or not) and now they are a protected class for life!

Several law officers have said that it often happens in divorces and violence cases that both victim and perpetrator make calls and claims against each other.  Now the perpetrator will be a protected class.

Further we have been instructed that if a tenant’s bad credit or bad landlord references are because of the violence then denying them for that bad credit or bad landlord references would be discrimination.

Many landlords will hesitate to not accept a protected class in fear of an anti-discrimination proceeding, which makes the state essentially forcing landlords to accept both Section 8, Violence Victims and Perpetrators.

Did you know that some insurance companies have an “internal policy” that they will not write property insurance if there are more than a certain percentage of Section 8 tenants.  You may now be forced to accept conditions that would cause your insurance to be canceled which in turn would cause the bank to call the mortgage and force a foreclosure.  Are you listening yet?

The Judicial Committee voted 11 to 7 to pass this bill.  Next it goes to the full house in a few days.  We need EVERY landlord to call & email their Representative (not Senator just yet), educate them on this horrendous bill and ask them to vote against it so it stops right here before crossing over to the Senate.

The full text of HB1409 is located here: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1409.html

Scheduled Hearings this Week

02/18/2014 at 11:30 AM    LOB 301
HB1472, School Funding in District with > 2 Municipalities
Level of Response: You Decide
Property Owner Position: You Decide

02/18/2014 at 02:45 PM    LOB 301
SB223, Allow Private Funding And  Repayment Of Sewer Contsruction
Level of Response: You Decide
Property Owner Position: You Decide


Next week:None scheduled so far

Further below is:Bills Updated Status summary:
Full details on all bills above
(Which includes property owner position, contact info, talking points, and more)

Love & Light,
Nick Norman
RPOA Director of Legislative Affairs

==============================================
We only list the committee reports on the most important bills affecting the real estate business.  If you want to get the committee report on one of the other bills contact me & I will show you how to get them on line.  Its not terribly hard to get but not straight ahead either.
==============================================
Bills Updated Status summary:If you want to get the committee report on one of the bills contact me & I will show you how to get them on line.  Its not terribly hard to get but not straight ahead either.

HB227    
Title: relative to property and casualty insurance.
Property Owner Position: You Decide
House Status: PASSED / ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT
Senate Status: none

SB243    
Title: (New Title) relative to the carry forward of a credit against the business profits tax, rulemaking concerning the real estate transfer tax, the disclosure of certain department of revenue administration records, and the tax on unstamped tobacco products.
Property Owner Position: Limited Impact; You Decide
House Status: none
Senate Status: PASSED / ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT

HB1594    
Title: requiring licensure of community association property managers.
Property Owner Position: Against
House Status: INTERIM STUDY
Senate Status: none

SB310    
Title: authorizing tenant brewing.
Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide
House Status: none
Senate Status: PASSED / ADOPTED

SB333    
Title: relative to property taxation of manufactured housing.
Property Owner Position: Not Analyzed yet
House Status: none
Senate Status: PASSED / ADOPTED

HB1272    
Title: excluding certain leases by fraternal or social organizations from the definition of tenancy.
Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide
House Status: PASSED / ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT
Senate Status: none

HB1274    
Title: relative to the quarterly or semi-annual payment of rent.
Property Owner Position: For
House Status: REPORT FILED:
Senate Status: none

HB1275    
Title: permitting a landlord to tow a tenant's vehicle under certain circumstances.
Property Owner Position: For
House Status: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE
Senate Status: none

HB1336    
Title: relative to the landlord's agent requirement.
Property Owner Position: Against
House Status: REPORT FILED:
Senate Status: none

HB1369    
Title: adopting the Uniform Marital Property Act.
Property Owner Position: You Decide
House Status: REPORT FILED:
Senate Status: none

HB1409    
Title: expanding the law against discrimination to prohibit housing discrimination against recipients of rental assistance and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
Property Owner Position: Against
House Status: REPORT FILED:
Senate Status: none

HB1214    
Title: relative to grounds for termination of tenancy.
Property Owner Position: For
House Status: REPORT FILED:
Senate Status: none

SB306    
Title: establishing a commission to study New Hampshire mortgage foreclosure law, new federal regulations, and fair foreclosure practices.
Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide
House Status: none
Senate Status: PASSED / ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT

SB304    
Title: relative to the valuation of property for purposes of agreements for payments in lieu of taxes.
Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide
House Status: none
Senate Status: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE

SB375    
Title: establishing a committee to study the creation of a flood mitigation fund for private property owners.
Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide
House Status: none
Senate Status: PASSED / ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT

SB223    
Title: authorizing municipalities to enter into contracts for the private funding and repayment of construction of sewer systems.
Property Owner Position: You Decide
House Status: IN COMMITTEE
Senate Status: PASSED / ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT
==============================================
Full details on all bills above:HB227, Casualty Insurance Carriers File Retention & amendments
01/22/2013 at 10:15 AM    LOB 302
Title: relative to property and casualty insurance.

Summary: This bill expands the list of things that an insurance company must retain for the year of the claim and the five years thereafter to include debt and bank card information.

The second section deals with rebating commissions.

The third section adds a provision that if there is an audit regard premiums, that has to be completed within 120 days of the cancellation of the policy, and any refund due must be sent out within the 120 days. A fine of $1,000 per day can be imposed on any company that violates this provision, unless notice of a dispute is sent in 120 days.

The balance of the bill, which was proposed by the NH Dept of Insurance, is amendments to regulatory system for insurance and adjusters. The bill appears to be consumer friendly, which as buyers of insurance, landlords would want.

Property Owner Position: You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H43

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseCommerceAndConsumerAffairs@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB227

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB0227.html
Analysis Stated in Bill: This bill makes certain changes in the laws relative to property and casualty insurance.
This bill was requested by the insurance department.

Notes: This is a complicated bill that would need lots of study to respond intelligently.  We feel our time is better spent on bills directly affecting our business.  You decide if this affects you enough to pursue it further.

Talking Points:
none developed so far.
=====================
SB243, Business Profits, Real Estate Transfer Tax
01/14/2014 at 09:15 AM    SH 103
Title: (New Title) relative to the carry forward of a credit against the business profits tax, rulemaking concerning the real estate transfer tax, the disclosure of certain department of revenue administration records, and the tax on unstamped tobacco products.

Summary: This bill clarifies the taxable years for which the business profits tax credit for business enterprise tax aid may be carried forward. The bill also allows for rules concerning the real estate transfer tax to include examples in its rules regarding the transfer tax.  This is currently done in IRS regulations, which makes them easier to understand.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S17

Email to Committee:
To: andrew.hosmer@leg.state.nh.us; dalas@leg.state.nh.us; chuck.morse@leg.state.nh.us; bob.odell@leg.state.nh.us; james.rausch@leg.state.nh.us; ;
Subject: SB243

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0243.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
Limited Impact, no talking points developed.
=====================
HB1594, Condo Manager License
01/14/2014 at 02:00 PM    LOB 306
Title: requiring licensure of community association property managers.

Summary: This is a fairly comprehensive bill that establishes a licensing board, complete with things such as rule making authority, continuing education requirements, license requirements and the like to regulate property manager for ""Community Associations""  The bill defines these associations as ""a residential homeowners’ association in which membership is a condition of ownership of a lot, parcel, unit, or interest, whether in condominium, subdivision, or within a planned unit development. “Community association” shall not include associations of owners of property held under time-share arrangements.

Since we see our membership as apartment building owners and not as developers, or owners of multiple houses in a development that has a community owners association, we feel that the bill will have little impact upon us.  Probably there have been property managers of such associations that have engaged in such poor behavior that caused this bill to be submitted.  However, we feel in general more bureacracy is always undesirable.

Property Owner Position: Against

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H07

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseExecutiveDepartmentsandAdministration@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1594

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1594.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
This is creating another licensing process and a cost and time by testing and doing continuing educaction every renewal. There are laws already in place with the Real Estate department about being a property manager and having a license to do it. Would this require your employees to get a license? Simply adding another agency to regulate real-estate. Requiring employees to get license which adds cost and testing along with annual fees which go to the state general fund.
=====================
SB310, Commercial Tenant Brewer License
01/16/2014 at 01:30 PM    LOB 101
Title: authorizing tenant brewing.

Summary: This bill establishes a tenant brewer license authorizing the holder to enter into a partnership with a beverage manufacture to produce or package beer or specialty beer. For commercial applications.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S37

Email to Committee:
To: jeb.bradley@leg.state.nh.us; casac@worldpath.net; andrew.hosmer@leg.state.nh.us; NH.Sen.Pierce@gmail.com; andy.sanborn@leg.state.nh.us; ;
Subject: SB310

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0310.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
Limited Impact, no talking points developed.
=====================
SB333,
01/21/2014 at 09:00 AM    SH 103
Title: relative to property taxation of manufactured housing.

Summary: Not Analyzed yet

Property Owner Position: Not Analyzed yet

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S17

Email to Committee:
To: andrew.hosmer@leg.state.nh.us; dalas@leg.state.nh.us; chuck.morse@leg.state.nh.us; bob.odell@leg.state.nh.us; james.rausch@leg.state.nh.us; ;
Subject: SB333

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0333.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
Not Analyzed yet
=====================
HB1272, Excluding Fraternity Rental to Member from RSA540.
01/21/2014 at 10:30 AM    LOB 208
Title: excluding certain leases by fraternal or social organizations from the definition of tenancy.

Summary: This is a one line bill that would exclude residential units owned and rented by a fraternal or social organization to a member from being a residence under RSA 540.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1272

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1272.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
Some of our members felt they were against this bill. Why should these organizations be exempted from the laws we have to follow?
=====================
HB1274, Quarterly Semi-annual Rent
01/21/2014 at 11:00 AM    LOB 208
Title: relative to the quarterly or semi-annual payment of rent.

Summary: Allows a landlord to enter into a residential lease requiring a tenant to pay rent either quarterly or semi-annually without violating the security deposit statute where a landlord can not ask for more than one month's rent.

We think the bill should also include a provision that a landlord may accept an offer by a tenant to prepay more than one month's rent.  It rarely happens, but some people when they receive their tax refund want to pay ahead when they are moving into a new apartment or over come bad credit or some other application default by prepaying a large portion of rent. Prepayment of rent should be just that and not considered a security deposit.

The bill merely clears up an ambiguity for landlords who want quarterly or semi-annual payments. We anticipate this only happens with expensive high end rentals, or seasonal rentals.

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1274

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1274.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
See Summary & this greatly affects college communities.  In Durham, Dover, Keene, etc., you have landlords routinely taking a full semester's rent up front.  The bill was intended to give them an option to legally allow this kind of option.

There is also the situation where someone with bad credit has a tax refund, personal injury settlement or other lump sum and the landlord might be willing to take a chance on the tenant if the landlord were permitted to due so under the law.  There is an amendment which would allow landlords to require 3 months or more rent to be paid up front.  With the amendment (passed by House Judiciary committee) landlords would be allowed to legally handle these situations.
=====================
HB1275, Towing Tenant Vehicle
01/21/2014 at 11:30 AM    LOB 208
Title: permitting a landlord to tow a tenant's vehicle under certain circumstances.

Summary: Simply it allows a landlord to tow a car in the circumstances stated in the bill (tow a tenants car if the car is parked in a place or manner that violates the terms of a written lease or in a fire lane, or the tenant fails to move the car during snow removal) without violating RSA 540-A:3(III)  which states: ""No landlord shall willfully seize, hold or otherwise directly or indirectly deny a tenant access to and possession of such tenant's property, other than by proper judicial process.""

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1275

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1275.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
The bill would allow us to protect tenants by having cars in fire lanes towed or not moved during snow removal, protect our property by allowing us to tow cars parked improperly, such as on the lawns or walk ways, and if it is in a lease, cars that are uninspected, unregistered, or being repaired and possibly left on jacks in a parking lot or blocking or taking up a tenants reserved parking space.  We would like to see language that says that towing in these cases is at the tenant's expense.  Hey maybe we can finally able to clean up front yard to keep with city ordinances.
=====================
HB1336, $500 Fine For Failing To Register Landlord Agent
01/21/2014 at 01:00 PM    LOB 208
Title: relative to the landlord's agent requirement.

Summary: Imposes a fine of $500 for any landlord who fails to register a Landlord Agent in the city or town of the property

Property Owner Position: Against

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1336

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1336.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
We need to address this bill and oppose it in its current form.  The bill does not state who enforces it, nor who receives the fine.  Further, if a landlord is new, doesn't even know about this requirement, and does not register he/she is subject to this expensive fine.  That landlord should be given notice to register by the city or town and a grace period before being subject to the fine.  Should the broker who sells a building to a landlord be required to inform the landlord of the registration requirement?  Should there be some notice or form at a property closing? Perhaps the City or Town must be held responsible to notify all property owners of this law.

There have been several attempts to repeal this Landlord Agent requirement. Many towns do not even know the requirement exists.  This is a crazy fine for a law that should not even exist.

Lastly, if this should go through the fine is way too expensive and should be $50, then $100, the cap at $200 on some type of time line to respond.
=====================
HB1369, Uniform Marital Property Act
01/21/2014 at 01:00 PM    LOB 206
Title: adopting the Uniform Marital Property Act.

Summary: This bill would have New Hampshire adopt the Uniform Property Act  probably drafted by a committee who proposes such legislation for the country as a whole.

Property Owner Position: You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H37

Email to Committee:
To: 0
Subject: HB1369

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1369.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
The purpose of uniform codes is that all states that adopt the act have almost the same laws in that area of the law. For commercial transactions, this is very important.  Martial property laws have varied from state to state in the past.

Much of what is in this bill is the law in the State of New Hampshire. For instance, the division of a pension in a divorce follows the law that was developed by the Courts in deciding cases.  The bill also follows the general principal that all marital property is to be divided equally upon a divorce but the trial court has the power to make an unequal division based upon certain factors set forth in another statute.

The bill is far to complicated to provide a short and comprehensive summary.  Further, to accurately explain how the bill changes New Hampshire law will require the analysis of someone who has knowledge of current marital property laws which we don’t have.

The bill is very important to people who are involved in divorces, fights between spouses regarding the gifting or management of assets, probate, and other property division matters between spouses.

NH has not been a "community property" state.  I don't know if this would force NH into a "community property".  Would it prohibit the legal functioning of prenuptual and co-habitation agreements?

Many questions need to be answered here.  If you believe this affects you please get involved.
=====================
HB1409, Antidiscrimination Section 8, Domestic Violence
01/21/2014 at 01:30 PM    LOB 208
Title: expanding the law against discrimination to prohibit housing discrimination against recipients of rental assistance and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Summary: Proposed and drafted by NHLA (tenant advocates) expanding the law against discrimination to prohibit housing discrimination against recipients of rental assistance (any kind of assistance including Section 8) and any one who claims to be a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  Note: merely making an unverified call to the police or violence center would constitute some one now in a protected class.

Property Owner Position: Against

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1409

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1409.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
WE NEED EVERYONE INVOLED.

This bill makes two significant changes by adding two distinct and separate categories to RSA 354-A.

First addition to the protected classes (protected from discrimination) is any person who has merely reported to law enforcement, a victim’s violence center, or obtained a temporary or permanent protective order.

The second addition to RSA 354-A the protected classes (protected from discrimination) is for people who receive rental assistance..

We met with NHLA about this bill and were told two of the reasons NHLA put forward the bill are:
1. NHLA was told that people in these classes have difficulty finding apartments. However, NHLA has not provided any statistics to back this up.  Further people have 60 days to locate an apartment that can be extended up to 120 days.  If they work as hard at finding an apartment as the members of the legislature do during a session they should be able to locate an apartment within the allotted time frames.

We were told the victims of domestic violence sometimes have trouble getting apartments because they come with bad landlord references.

2. The second reason is that NHLA feels all tenants should be able to live where they want (despite their bad landlord references) and that these classes of tenants would  have a better chance of improving theirs situations if they could live in better areas.

Note that rental assistance vouchers have rental amount limits as to how much can be spent on rent.
Does this mean that all public housing that concentrates poor people in one project should be eliminated?

Notice that non-profit agencies are exempt.  Why?

There are so many problems with this bill it is crazy.  Here goes a listing of some.
1. Abusing the system by tenants
To obtain this protection against discrimination one would merely need to report abuse to any law enforcement officer or a violence center.    Making a lie to a victims violence center is not a crime,.  Many people have no problem not telling the police the  truth to get what they want, or filing a false affidavit to obtain a temporary order.  Just reporting the domestic violence or stalking is enough.  There is no judicial review or any determination of truth to obtain this protection.  It is easy to abuse the good intentions of the bill to the detriment of the landlords.

Many times at an apartment couples are arguing and the police are called. Now that arguing couple is a protected class and you can’t evict because an agency was called. This is really poorly written and will create another opportunity for a professional tenant to get away without paying rent. A landlord should be able to evict if there is a problem tenant. If the abuser keeps coming back and starting an augment the landlord and neighboring tenants will be stuck with the problem tenant and lose the good law abiding ones because of this law.  A “professional” tenant could make good money here.

2. Perpetrators allowed back in by victim.
Second: many times the victims allow the perpetrator into the new apartment. Other tenants to be in danger if new tenant who is victim of DV lets abuser back into their living space.  What if one of the tenants are harmed by the perpetrator.  Can the landlord now be held some how liable because the landlord could not do anything to eliminate the perpetrator?
If this happens, landlords have limited ability to evict unless they are witnesses to new abuse or disturbance of the peace.  The eviction requires a 30 days notice plus all the time the courts take  so it could take 2 to 3 months at a minimum to evict the perpetrator.  Mean time all the other tenants in the building who are subject to the fights, generally are reluctant to call police, and may move on account of the continued problem.  Now the landlord is only left with the troubled unit and will likely have trouble rerenting because of the troublesome unit.

Ultimately we need to stop this bill entirely.  If the bill moves forward, it needs to provide safeguards against abuse of the protections for victims, and needs to provide a way for a landlord to have the perpetrator removed quickly from the rented unit if the perpetrator was not on the lease or rental agreement, or a tenant. Only victims who have obtained a permanent order and have maintained the order should have this protection.

3. Section 8 tenants are more costly for landlords although landlords by HUD rules can not charge more for them.
a. more paper work.  The Section 8 lease and contract is very large with an extreme number of clauses.  Does this mean you have to except all the provisions that this government body dreams up and the landlord as no control over.
b.   must take time for initial inspection
c.   annual inspections
d.   annual financial reviews of the tenants if not more often, which changes the amount paid by the housing authority and the tenant.  Increases bookkeeping time and chances of errors.
e.   More regulations, and different standards such as with lead paint renovations which would now have to meet more stringent HUD rules.
Did you know that having a housing assistance tenant forces you to follow HUD RRP rules instead of EPA RRP rules.  The HUD rules are more restrictive and expense to follow which will absolutely increase your expenses and create more vacancy.
f.   Need housing authority approval to raise rents, and there are limitations on rent increases based upon what is allowed by HUD
g.  Sec 8 is funded by what has been a dysfunctional  Congress.  Who knows what they will continue to fund.
h   Landlords should not be forced to have too many sec 8 tenants, if funding is reduced the landlord could face financial ruin.
i. This will open all our rental properties to having to be up to government (HUD) codes including at least annual inspections, not just current building code.

The bill gives people on sec 8 & any type of housing assistance greater rights than people who work and pay rent from their paychecks.

4.  Limited ability to screen new tenants.
This will force you to accept Section 8 tenants.  You will not be allowed to deny someone your apartment if they have bad landlord references or bad credit if those references and credit are "caused" by the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  Maybe this could be stretched to say the reasons that cause a tenant to be eligible for Section 8 are the reasons for their bad credit.  If so landlords could not refuse a Section 8 tenant because of their bad credit.  Could that be extended to say the could not be refuse because of bad past rental payments.

5. More legal battles to fight.
It happens often that a landlord who never had any intent to discriminate winds up spending hours and hours and thousands of dollars in an effort to convince an investigator of their innocence.  How could you know that some one is a victim of domestic violence  or if they have reported domestic violence or verify of these?  What does that mean?  To be safe from a discrimination lawsuit a landlord must simply accept anybody?   This could easily open up many “frivolous” lawsuits against landlords.

6. Potential issues with property insurance
Some insurance companies won’t do insurance if Section 8 more than 20%-50%. Standard Insurance companies research shows that if there is a majority of a building rented to Section 8 occupants there tend to be more claims and less maintenance is done on the building.  We have been told by insurance agents that it is their right not to insure the building in that situation.

This is a terrible bill for landlords. Stay tuned, contact you legislators and ask them to vote against HB1409. =====================
HB1214, Termination of Tenancy
01/21/2014 at 02:30 PM    LOB 208
Title: relative to grounds for termination of tenancy.

Summary: Allows a landlord to evict a tenant based upon the expiration of a lease or the rightful termination of the term of the lease or rental agreement.

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1214

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1214.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
Surrounding states have this already as law.  A lease is a contract – by law it has to have a beginning and an end date.  The tenant can have the end date as the last day, the landlord should have that option as well.

It is a short one line bill that would overrule the NH Supreme Court case that says that Landlords have to have a valid reason to evict a tenant, as set for the RSA 540:2.

There are many instances where we need to evict a problematic tenant where it can be difficult to prove the facts needed to evict.  For instance the loud bully who other tenants do not want to testify against. (How about the member of a motor cycle gang, not club, but gang.) If this bill passes, we could evict that tenant without involving other residents of the building.
=====================
SB306, NH Study Commission on Foreclosure Law
01/28/2014 at 02:30 PM    LOB 101
Title: establishing a commission to study New Hampshire mortgage foreclosure law, new federal regulations, and fair foreclosure practices.

Summary: This bill would establish a commission to study New Hampshire foreclosure law, Federal Regulations, and Fair Forclosure Practices. The commission is as with all commissions, would then report back to the legislature its findings and recommendations, including aligning NH law with the federal regs.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S37

Email to Committee:
To: jeb.bradley@leg.state.nh.us; casac@worldpath.net; andrew.hosmer@leg.state.nh.us; NH.Sen.Pierce@gmail.com; andy.sanborn@leg.state.nh.us; ;
Subject: SB306

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0306.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
This bill does not change any existing laws. Until we see what the commission recommends, and how it would effect us, we recommend no action.
=====================
SB304, Valuation Of Property Value, Payment In Lieu Of Taxes
02/04/2014 at 10:15 AM    SH 103
Title: relative to the valuation of property for purposes of agreements for payments in lieu of taxes.

Summary: There are two parts to this bill.  The first deals with only with Coos County Taxes, and requirements if an agreement is made for payment in lieu of property taxes.

The second part deals with utilities making agreements with towns and unincorporated areas of payments in lieu of taxes.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S17

Email to Committee:
To: andrew.hosmer@leg.state.nh.us; dalas@leg.state.nh.us; chuck.morse@leg.state.nh.us; bob.odell@leg.state.nh.us; james.rausch@leg.state.nh.us; ;
Subject: SB304

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0304.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
none developed so far.
=====================
SB375, Study Commission Flood Mitigation Fund
02/05/2014 at 09:15 AM    LOB 102
Title: establishing a committee to study the creation of a flood mitigation fund for private property owners.

Summary: The bill would establish a three person commission to study the creation of a flood mitigation fund for private property owners.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S27

Email to Committee:
To: jeanie.forrester@leg.state.nh.us; bette.lasky@leg.state.nh.us; NH.Sen.Pierce@gmail.com; nancy.stiles@leg.state.nh.us; dboutin1465@comcast.net; ;
Subject: SB375

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0375.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
We could be effected two ways. For those of use with properties subject to flooding, such a fund could be a life saver, especially where flood insurance is so expensive.  On the other hand, it could establish some sort of tax in order to have money to go into the fund.

Since the bill only would establish a commission to study the issue and make recommendations, we leave it to you to decide how to respond.
=====================
HB1472, School Funding in District with > 2 Municipalities
02/18/2014 at 11:30 AM    LOB 301
Title: relative to equalized property valuation used to apportion expenses in cooperative and multi-town school districts.

Summary: In school districts where there are two or more municipalities, the school district is entitled to school funds in proportion to the value of the property in each town.  This bill would amend the law by adding that ""Property value should be the most recent equalized assessed value in each town.""  The bill is very logical and does not have major impact upon us.

Property Owner Position: You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H18

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1472

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1472.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
See Summary.
=====================
SB223, Allow Private Funding And  Repayment Of Sewer Contruction
02/18/2014 at 02:45 PM    LOB 301
Title: authorizing municipalities to enter into contracts for the private funding and repayment of construction of sewer systems.

Summary: This bill would allow cities and towns to adopt the provisions of the bill in order to retain the services of the various professionals to design, construct and fund the expansion of sewer systems. However, the maintenance of the system shall remain with the municipality. The purpose of the bill is to allow the municipality to expand the sewer system using the lowest cost method available.

Property Owner Position: You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H18

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: SB223

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0223.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
See Summary.
=====================

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Legislative Update - Feb 9th 2014 - House Judiciary committee voted mostly against landlords this week.

Howdee everyone,

In its executive session the House Judiciary committee voted mostly against landlords this week.  Details below.

Most important is HB1409.  We need EVERY landlord of NH to contact their representative NOW and ask them to oppose this horrendous bill.  In a few days the House will vote on passing the bill.

…….…….…….
Short summary of HB1409. (Full detail later on).
Tenants that receive housing assistance of a variety of kinds (Section 8, Veterans, possibly others) & victims of domestic violence, sexual assault & stalking will all now be a “Protected Class” which means they are protected from discrimination.

To get this protection a person only need call the police or violence center once (whether their claim is true or not) and now they are a protected class for life!

Several law officers have said that it often happens in divorces and violence cases that both victim and perpetrator make calls and claims against each other.  Now the perpetrator is a protected class.

Further we have been instructed that if a tenant’s bad credit or bad landlord references are because of the violence then denying them for bad credit or bad landlord references would be discrimination.

So in essence a tenant can “solve” their bad credit, bad landlord references with one phone call to a violence center.

Since many landlords will hesitate to not accept a protected class in fear of an anti-discrimation lawsuit, which makes the state essentially forcing landlords to accept both Section 8, Violence Victims and Perpetrators.

(Did you know that some insurance companies have an “internal policy” that they will not write property insurance if there are more than a certain percentage of Section 8 tenants).

The Judicial Committee voted 11 to 7 to pass this bill.  Next it goes to the full house in a few days.  We need EVERY landlord to call & email their Representative (not Senator just yet), educate them on this horrendous bill and ask them to vote against it so it stops right here before crossing over to the Senate.

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1409.html
To find both your Representative & Senator goto http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/wml.aspx

CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/ and click  “Find Your Representatives”

 
See more info in Summaries & Full Detail for each category further below. (includes property owner position, contact info, Talking points, and more).(to jump right to bill detail, use Control-F, Find).

Executive Sessions: (Bills being debated & decided)HB1409, Antidiscrimination Section 8, Domestic Violence
Ought To Pass 11 to 7

HB1274, Quarterly Semi-annual Rent
Ought To Pass 13 to 5

HB1336, $500 Fine For Failing To Register Landlord Agent
Amended Ought To Pass  12 to 7
Amendment says towns will administer and receive the fees

HB1214, Termination of Tenancy
ITL 14 to 4  (bill died)


This week:02/12/2014 at 10:15 AM    LOB 102
SB347, Fines related to Landlord Agent Registration
Level of Response: Attend hearings, Email & Call Legislators
Property Owner Position: Against

02/13/2014 at 10:00 AM    LOB 301
HB1196, Special Circumstances To Waive Interest On Unpaid Taxes
Level of Response: You Decide
Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

02/13/2014 at 10:30 AM    LOB 301
HB1171, Veterans Property Tax Credit
Level of Response: You Decide
Property Owner Position: You Decide

02/13/2014 at 02:00 PM    LOB 301
HB1333, Eliminate Fraudulent Use of Elderly Property Tax Credit
Level of Response: Email Legislators
Property Owner Position: For


Next week:None scheduled so far
 
Further below is:Full details on all bills above
 (Which includes property owner position, contact info, talking points, and more)

Love & Light,
Nick Norman
RPOA Director of Legislative Affairs
==============================================
Full details on all bills above:HB1274, Quarterly Semi-annual Rent
01/21/2014 at 11:00 AM    LOB 208
Title: relative to the quarterly or semi-annual payment of rent.

Summary: Allows a landlord to enter into a residential lease requiring a tenant to pay rent either quarterly or semi-annually without violating the security deposit statute where a landlord can not ask for more than one month's rent.
 
We think the bill should also include a provision that a landlord may accept an offer by a tenant to prepay more than one month's rent.  It rarely happens, but some people when they receive their tax refund want to pay ahead when they are moving into a new apartment or over come bad credit or some other application default by prepaying a large portion of rent. Prepayment of rent should be just that and not considered a security deposit.
 
The bill merely clears up an ambiguity for landlords who want quarterly or semi-annual payments. We anticipate this only happens with expensive high end rentals, or seasonal rentals.

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1274

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1274.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
See Summary & this greatly affects college communities.  In Durham, Dover, Keene, etc., you have landlords routinely taking a full semester's rent up front.  The bill was intended to give them an option to legally allow this kind of option.

There is also the situation where someone with bad credit has a tax refund, personal injury settlement or other lump sum and the landlord might be willing to take a chance on the tenant if the landlord were permitted to due so under the law.  There is an amendment which would allow landlords to require 3 months or more rent to be paid up front.  With the amendment (passed by House Judiciary committee) landlords would be allowed to legally handle these situations.
=====================
HB1336, $500 Fine For Failing To Register Landlord Agent
01/21/2014 at 01:00 PM    LOB 208
Title: relative to the landlord's agent requirement.

Summary: Imposes a fine of $500 for any landlord who fails to register a Landlord Agent in the city or town of the property

Property Owner Position: Against

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1336

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1336.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
We need to address this bill and oppose it in its current form.  The bill does not state who enforces it, nor who receives the fine.  Further, if a landlord is new, doesn't even know about this requirement, and does not register he/she is subject to this expensive fine.  That landlord should be given notice to register by the city or town and a grace period before being subject to the fine.  Should the broker who sells a building to a landlord be required to inform the landlord of the registration requirement?  Should there be some notice or form at a property closing? Perhaps the City or Town must be held responsible to notify all property owners of this law.

There have been several attempts to repeal this Landlord Agent requirement. Many towns do not even know the requirement exists.  This is a crazy fine for a law that should not even exist.

Lastly, if this should go through the fine is way too expensive and should be $50, then $100, the cap at $200 on some type of time line to respond.
=====================
HB1409, Antidiscrimination Section 8, Domestic Violence
01/21/2014 at 01:30 PM    LOB 208
Title: expanding the law against discrimination to prohibit housing discrimination against recipients of rental assistance and victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.

Summary: Proposed and drafted by NHLA (tenant advocates) expanding the law against discrimination to prohibit housing discrimination against recipients of rental assistance (any kind of assistance including Section 8) and any one who claims to be a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  Note: merely making an unverified call to the police or violence center would constitute some one now in a protected class.

Property Owner Position: Against

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1409

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1409.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
WE NEED EVERYONE INVOLED.
This bill makes two significant changes by adding two distinct and separate categories to RSA 354-A.

First addition to the protected classes (protected from discrimination) is any person who has merely reported to law enforcement, a victim’s violence center, or obtained a temporary or permanent protective order.
 
The second addition to RSA 354-A the protected classes (protected from discrimination) is for people who receive rental assistance..

We met with NHLA about this bill and were told two of the reasons NHLA put forward the bill are:
1. NHLA was told that people in these classes have difficulty finding apartments. However, NHLA has not provided any statistics to back this up.  Further people have 60 days to locate an apartment that can be extended up to 120 days.  If they work as hard at finding an apartment as the members of the legislature do during a session they should be able to locate an apartment within the allotted time frames.
 
We were told the victims of domestic violence sometimes have trouble getting apartments because they come with bad landlord references.

2. The second reason is that NHLA feels all tenants should be able to live where they want (despite their bad landlord references) and that these classes of tenants would  have a better chance of improving theirs situations if they could live in better areas.
 
Note that rental assistance vouchers have rental amount limits as to how much can be spent on rent.
Does this mean that all public housing that concentrates poor people in one project should be eliminated?
 
Notice that non-profit agencies are exempt.  Why?

There are so many problems with this bill it is crazy.  Here goes a listing of some.
1. Abusing the system by tenants
To obtain this protection against discrimination one would merely need to report abuse to any law enforcement officer or a violence center.    Making a lie to a victims violence center is not a crime,.  Many people have no problem not telling the police the  truth to get what they want, or filing a false affidavit to obtain a temporary order.  Just reporting the domestic violence or stalking is enough.  There is no judicial review or any determination of truth to obtain this protection.  It is easy to abuse the good intentions of the bill to the detriment of the landlords.
 
Many times at an apartment couples are arguing and the police are called. Now that arguing couple is a protected class and you can’t evict because an agency was called. This is really poorly written and will create another opportunity for a professional tenant to get away without paying rent. A landlord should be able to evict if there is a problem tenant. If the abuser keeps coming back and starting an augment the landlord and neighboring tenants will be stuck with the problem tenant and lose the good law abiding ones because of this law.  A “professional” tenant could make good money here.

2. Perpetrators allowed back in by victim.
Second: many times the victims allow the perpetrator into the new apartment. Other tenants to be in danger if new tenant who is victim of DV lets abuser back into their living space.  What if one of the tenants are harmed by the perpetrator.  Can the landlord now be held some how liable because the landlord could not do anything to eliminate the perpetrator?
If this happens, landlords have limited ability to evict unless they are witnesses to new abuse or disturbance of the peace.  The eviction requires a 30 days notice plus all the time the courts take  so it could take 2 to 3 months at a minimum to evict the perpetrator.  Mean time all the other tenants in the building who are subject to the fights, generally are reluctant to call police, and may move on account of the continued problem.  Now the landlord is only left with the troubled unit and will likely have trouble rerenting because of the troublesome unit.
 
Ultimately we need to stop this bill entirely.  If the bill moves forward, it needs to provide safeguards against abuse of the protections for victims, and needs to provide a way for a landlord to have the perpetrator removed quickly from the rented unit if the perpetrator was not on the lease or rental agreement, or a tenant. Only victims who have obtained a permanent order and have maintained the order should have this protection.

3. Section 8 tenants are more costly for landlords although landlords by HUD rules can not charge more for them.
a. more paper work.  The Section 8 lease and contract is very large with an extreme number of clauses.  Does this mean you have to except all the provisions that this government body dreams up and the landlord as no control over.
b.   must take time for initial inspection
c.   annual inspections
d.   annual financial reviews of the tenants if not more often, which changes the amount paid by the housing authority and the tenant.  Increases bookkeeping time and chances of errors.
e.   More regulations, and different standards such as with lead paint renovations which would now have to meet more stringent HUD rules.
Did you know that having a housing assistance tenant forces you to follow HUD RRP rules instead of EPA RRP rules.  The HUD rules are more restrictive and expense to follow which will absolutely increase your expenses and create more vacancy.
f.   Need housing authority approval to raise rents, and there are limitations on rent increases based upon what is allowed by HUD
g.  Sec 8 is funded by what has been a disfuctional  Congress.  Who knows what they will continue to fund.
h   Landlords should not be forced to have too many sec 8 tenants, if funding is reduced the landlord could face fancial             ruin.
i. This will open all our rental properties to having to be up to government (HUD) codes including at least annual inspections, not just current building code.

The bill gives people on sec 8 & any type of housing assistance greater rights than people who work and pay rent from their paychecks.

4.  Limited ability to screen new tenants.
This will force you to accept Section 8 tenants.  You will not be allowed to deny some one your apartment if they have bad landlord references or bad credit if those references and credit are ""caused"" by the domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking.  Maybe this could be stretched to say the reasons that cause a tenant to be eligible for Section 8 are the reasons for their bad credit.  If so landlords could not refuse a Section 8 tenant because of their bad credit.  Could that be extended to say the could not be refuse because of bad past rental payments.

5. More legal battles to fight.
It happens often that a landlord who never had any intent to discriminate winds up spending hours and hours and thousands of dollars in an effort to convince an investigator of their innocence.  How could you know that some one is a victim of domestic violence  or if they have reported domestic violence or verify of these?  What does that mean?  To be safe from a descrimination lawsuit a landlord must simply accept anybody?   This could easily open up many “frivolous” lawsuits against landlords.

6. Potential issues with property insurance
Some insurance companies won’t do insurance if Section 8 more than 20%-50%.

This is a terrible bill for landlords.  There is so much to talk about here that it will take us a while to put together all the notes required.  We are even still collecting and summarizing notes against the bill.
=====================
HB1214, Termination of Tenancy
01/21/2014 at 02:30 PM    LOB 208
Title: relative to grounds for termination of tenancy.

Summary: Allows a landlord to evict a tenant based upon the expiration of a lease or the rightful termination of the term of the lease or rental agreement.

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H10

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseJudiciaryCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1214

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1214.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
Surrounding states have this already as law.  A lease is a contract – by law it has to have a beginning and an end date.  The tenant can have the end date as the last day, the landlord should have that option as well.

It is a short one line bill that would overrule the NH Supreme Court case that says that Landlords have to have a valid reason to evict a tenant, as set for the RSA 540:2.
 
There are many instances where we need to evict a problematic tenant where it can be difficult to prove the facts needed to evict.  For instance the loud bully who other tenants do not want to testify against. (How about the member of a motor cycle gang, not club, but gang.) If this bill passes, we could evict that tenant without involving other residents of the building.
=====================
SB347, Fines related to Landlord Agent Registration
02/12/2014 at 10:15 AM    LOB 102
Title: relative to municipal enforcement of land use ordinances.

Summary: This bill amends the statute dealing with municipal citations so that any defendant who fails to respond to a citation is subject to fines and penalties set forth in RSA 676:17 ($275 for the first offense and $550 for each subsequent offense, as well as daily fines, attorney fees and more).
It also makes any person who fails to file a statement of a designated agent pursuant to RSA 540:1-c subject to a fine not to exceed $100.


Property Owner Position: Against

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/Senate/committees/committee_details.aspx?cc=S27

Email to Committee:
To: jeanie.forrester@leg.state.nh.us; bette.lasky@leg.state.nh.us; NH.Sen.Pierce@gmail.com; nancy.stiles@leg.state.nh.us; dboutin1465@comcast.net; ;
Subject: SB347

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/SB0347.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
This is less than the house bill of $500, and just like the house bill does not state who enforces it, nor who receives the fine.  Further, if a landlord is new, doesn't even know about this requirement, and does not register he/she is subject to these fines.  That landlord should be given notice to register by the city or town and a grace period before being subject to the fine.  Should the broker who sells a building to a landlord be required to inform the landlord of the registration requirement?  Should there be some notice or form at a property closing? Perhaps the City or Town must be held responsible to notify all property owners of this law.

There have been several attempts to repeal this Landlord Agent requirement. Many towns do not even know the requirement exists.  They can look up assessment records/purchase records to find address for service.
This law that should not even exist.
=====================
HB1196, Special Circumstances To Waive Interest On Unpaid Taxes
02/13/2014 at 10:00 AM    LOB 301
Title: allowing town and cities to waive a portion of the interest due on late property tax payments in special or extraordinary circumstances.

Summary: This bill would grant authority to local governing body of any municipality to waive a portion interest accrued on unpaid taxes upon request of the person liable for the taxes, when the governing body determines that there are special or extraordinary circumstance that require such a waiver.

Property Owner Position: LimitedImpact; You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H18

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1196

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1196.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
The bill does not give any guidance as to what are special or extraordinary circumstances, not does it specify what portion of the taxes can be waived.
 
There are circumstances where the interest should be waived, for instance the tax bill was wrong and the property owner was over taxed, and the property owner paid the correct amount of the tax.  It is not at all clear if the financial circumstances or health of a property owner would be such special circumstances.  Because the bill is so unclear, we do not feel that we should support it.  We also do not think that we should oppose it, as one of us could end up benefiting by such a bill.  You decide.
=====================
HB1171, Veterans Property Tax Credit
02/13/2014 at 10:30 AM    LOB 301
Title: relative to eligibility for the veterans' property tax credit.

Summary: This bill would give a property tax credit to every state resident  who is in active duty in the US military for at least 4 years and has served in an armed conflict for not less than 90 days.  The tax credit would continue after an honorable discharge from the military for life.

Property Owner Position: You Decide

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H18

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1171

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1171.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
The bill is a ""Thank you"" for risking life and limb to our current forces and combat veterans.

=====================
HB1333, Eliminate Fraudulent Use of Elderly Property Tax Credit
02/13/2014 at 02:00 PM    LOB 301
Title: relative to the elderly property tax exemption.

Summary: The bill would not allow the elderly tax exemption if the house was being used by someone who moved into the elderly person’s home and had income above certain limits. It is to prevent someone who has income from moving in with an elderly person and avoid paying his or her fair share of taxes.

Property Owner Position: For

Link to Committee Info: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H18

Email to Committee:
To: ~HouseMunicipalandCountyGovt@leg.state.nh.us
Subject: HB1333

Link to Bill Text: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2014/HB1333.html
Analysis Stated in Bill:

Talking Points:
This bill would reduce the elderly tax exemption if the owner shares the house with someone who is not the owners spouse and is over 18 with a personal income of over amounts set by the local community, but not less than $13,400 for a single person or $20,400 for a married person.
 
Since exemptions raise taxes for everyone else, and this bill only effects people who the legislature deems to have sufficient funds to pay part if not all the property taxes, we should support the bill.